Dyeing apparatus.



D. M. HEY.

DYEING APPARATUS. VAVPPLIOATION FILED APR.24, 1911.

1,027,729. Patehted May 28,1912.

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COLUMBIA PLANouRM-H c0. wASHlNuToN, n. c

UNITED sTATEs PATENT OFFICE.

DAVID M, HEY, OF CHATTANOOGA, TENNESSEE, ASSIGNORTO VACUUM DYEING MACHINE COMPANY, OF CHATTANOOGA, TENNESSEE, A CORPORATION OF TEN- NESSEE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

IDYEING APPARATUS.

Patented May 28, 1912.

Application filed April 24, 1911. Serial No. 622,903.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, DAVID M. HEY, a cit-1- zen of the United States, residing at Chattanooga, in the county of Hamilton and of the present invention in the. most satisfactory manner. The details illustrated may, however, be varied without departing 1 from'the spirit of the invention or the scope of the subjoined claims.

In said drawings,'wherein like characters of reference denote similar parts in the several views: Figure 1 is a vertical section through a dye vat embodying the present improvements. Fig. 2 is a plan View of the same, on a reduced scale, with the cover removed and a part of the bottom plate broken away to show underlying elements. Fig. 3 is a plan View of the cover plate. Figs. 4, 5 and 6 are detail views of-parts-of the distributing means.

The present invention relates to the dyeing or bleaching apparatus which are commonly known as the circulatory or vacuum type. In this type of apparatus the material to be treated is held en masse in a vat as A which is divided into three chambers, 1,- 2 and 3, respectively, by a bottom'plate B and a top plate C. These plates are each formed with aseries of perforations. The liquid employed to dye, bleach or washthe material under treatment is forced into the mass of material through one of said plates and leaves the mass of material through the other plate. The means for forcing the liquor through the mass of material is usually a centrifugal pump having suitable valved pipes which connect it with the chambers 1 and 3, and frequently the connection includes means whereby the direction of the flow of liquid may be reversed. The pump and pipes form no part of the present invention and hence need not be illustrated or more particularly referred to herein. Inthe normal operation of the apparatus, the chamber 1 receives the liquor prior to its access to the material in the chamber 2, and the chamber ,3 receives the liqpor after it has treated the material in the chamber 2/ They chamber 1 may, therefore, properly be regarded as the liquor receivlng chamber, the chamber 2 as the treating chamber and the chamber 3 as the overflow chamber. The material is held under compression during the dyeing, bleaching or washing operations, between the bottom'plate B and top plate C, the top plate being for this purpose adjustably mounted inthe vat and provided with suitable means for forcing it toward the bottom plate until the material in the treating chamber 2 has attained the proper degree of compression and then holding it in such position rigidly against the pressure of the material. A suitable means for this purpose comprises the herein shown adjustable dogs D and clamping wheels E, for example.

The treated material is removed from the vat, after the top plate has been removed, by lifting the bottom plate with the material thereon, the bottom plate being for this purpose removable from the vat and provided with suitable means, as the chains F color throughout the mass of material subjected to the dyeing operation therein, particularly with respect to materials of certain kinds. This difiiculty has long been recognized and many and persistent attempts have been made to overcome 1t.

Channeling has been recognized as the most fruitful cause of the trouble and to overcome this various expedients have been resorted to, but none of them has been entirely satisfactory. This channeling is due to the fact that by the means at present provided to" supply steam and dye liquor to the material, the fluid frequently jets up into the mass of material with a force which the latter at one or more places is unable to withstand, it being very difficult soto pack the material in the treating chamber thatno weak place will be left incapableof withstanding excessive pressure at that place.

I have found that by employing the ordiout approximately the entire area thereof) in conjunction with a distributer which comprises a plurality of branches, as G, arranged in the receiving chamber 1 and occupying a considerable part of the area thereof, and also having one or more other branches (as the branch H for example) which extends into the treating chamber so as to be within the mass of material under treatment, each of said branches having outlet apertures properly distributed throughout the area thereof, the outlets of one or more of the branches being arranged to discharge the liquor in directions which in tersect the planes of flow of liquor delivered through the other outlet channeling is practically overcome and a uniform dyeing of the material is substantially assured.

By causing the perforated plate through which one surface of the mass under treatment in the treating chamber receives its supply of liquid, to be supplied from a receiving chamber which is covered by said plate and which receives its supply of liquld at a great number of places in its area, the danger of the formation of channels within the body of material, due to an excessive pressure at one or more places in said mass is minimized, and any danger of this that may still exist is cured by causing a part of the liquor to flow to the branch or branches which are in the treating chamber and issue from the latter branch or branches in a series of jets which intersect the planes of the jets from the inlet plate B so as to close up any space which might be formed within the mass, by undue loose packing. In conjunction with this a free flow of the liquor into all parts of the overflow chamber should be provided for, by perforating the compression plate throughout its area for example. The ends of the present invention, moreover, are most effectively subserved by packing the mass tightly throughout, and not only tightly at the outside or near the wall of the vat, as it is not in any wise essential to the present invention that the entire mass shall be forced outward from the center toward the side wall or walls, in order to correct the tendency to the formation of channels near the wall of the vat. In fact, to correct the latter tendency I have found it to be desirable to form the bottom plate B with an imperferate outer circumferential portion 5 which rests upon a ledge a formed in the vat around the mouth of the receiving chamber 1, and also with a depending flange 6 which extends into said receiving chamber and is arranged contiguous to the wall of the latter. This prevents the emission of any steam or dye liquor jets upward around the outer surface of the mass. Again, in the present invention the portion of the mass above the branch H receives its supply of liquor from upwardly directed apertures in said branch and the portion of the top or compression plate C immediately over said branch is apertured for the exit of said liquor.

The particular embodiment illustrated in the drawings and which will now be described in detail provides a very advantageous form of distributer and carries the purposes of the present invent-ion into practice in the best manner. This distributer is provided with a head I which comprises a pipe 5 through which its interior has communication with the source of supply of liquid through a conduit 6. It also has a lateral flange 7 by which it is secured to the under side of the dye vat A. It projects through the bottom of said vat into the dyeing chamber 1 and its chambered portion 8 within the latter has a series of apertures 9 to each of which one of the lateral branches G, hereinbefore referred to is connected. These lateral branches G extend radially from the head and project to within a short distance of the side wall of the liquor receiving chamber 1 and each preferably has its outer end closed and its longitudinal wall or walls formed with a series of perforations. One longitudinal wall of each branch is preferably free from perforations (as shown more clearly in Fig. 6) and the branches preferably are so connected to the head that each may be turned so as to present its nonperforated .wall either toward the bottom of the liquor receiving chamber 1, as shown, or present said nonperforated wall toward the bottom plate B, as desired. Any suitable provision for turning the branches G may be resorted to and two different forms permitting this are herein shown. According to the form shown in Fig. 4 each branch G will have its end provided with an annular flange 9 which is received by a correspondingly shaped recess 9 formed in the distributer and is held in said recess by a plate 9 suitably secured, as by means of the bolts 9 According to the form shown in Fig. 5 each lateral branch, marked G in this figure, has its inner end provided with a circumferentially threaded flange marked 9 received by an internally threaded socket 9 formed on the distributer. hen the branches are in the position shown in Fig. 1, dye liquor will jet through the perforations in the uppermost sides thereof, directly toward the bottom plate B. lVith certain goods or materials, however, it is advantageous to cause the dye liquor to rise more gently against the material to be dyed, and to suit this condition the lateral branches may be turned so as to discharge the liquor toward the bottom of the vat and cause it to contact with the latter before reaching the bottom plate B. The other branch, H, hereinbefore referred to, also communicates with the chamber 8 of the head I and extends thence through the bottom plate B and into the dyeing chamber. It preferably is formed integral with the head I, but may be fastened thereto in any suitable way. It constitutes an upward axial prolongation of the head, the lateral branches being disposed below the branch H and extending radially from the head. This branch H is preferably formed with perforations throughout its area within the treating chamber, the perforations being, as shown, preferably. arranged to discharge upward toward the central perforated part of the top plate C as well as laterally toward the sides of the vat. In the present exempliflcation of the invention the pipe 5 is divided on the line 5 to permit the convenient insertion and removal of the branches G and H attached to each other.

In practice, the liquor is introduced into the chamber 8 and a part of the same flows into the branch H while other parts flow into the radial branches G and into the receiving chamber I. From the latter chamber the liquor flows through the bottom plate and into the body of the mass in a direction toward the compression plate while a portion of the liquor from the central branch -H flows outwardly into the mass toward the side wall of the vat and by its pressure closes any weak places in the body of the mass: while another portion of the liquor flows from the central branch H directly toward the compression plate and treats the portion of the mass between the cage and the latter plate. The liquor overflows from the vat through the compression plate, all parts of' which are apertured for overflow. Practical experience with this distributing means have demonstrated that the results accomplished by it are much better than those hitherto accomplished, as a uniform and even dyeing of the mass is secured without necessitating a wholly uniformly tight packing of the material in the treating chamber.

Having now described the invention what I believe to be new and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is a 1. A distributer for dyeing and analogous apparatus of the circulatory type, comprising a hollow head having a series of lateral branches which communicate with the interior thereof, said branches having longitu dinally-disposed outlets, and a branch which extends from the head at an angle with the first mentioned branches and communicates with the interior of the head and has a series of outlets.

2. A distributer for-dyeing and analogous apparatus of the circulatory type, comprising a hollow head having a series of lateral branches which communicate with the interior thereof, said branches having longitudinally-disposed outlets, and each branch having its outer end closed and being rotatably engaged with the head and provided with a longitudinal imperforate wall, and a branch which extends from the head at an angle with the first mentionedbranches and communicates with the interior of the head and has a seriesof outlets.

3. A distributer for dyeing and analogous apparatus of the circulatory type, having a hollow head provided with means for the supply of liquid thereto, said head being tapped near its bottom by a series of branches which extend radially therefrom and are formed with longitudinally-disposed outlet apertures, the head being also provided above said branches with outlet apertures arranged to direct the liquid upwardly and outwardly therefrom, at an angle with the direction-of flow of the liquid from the apertures of the lateral branches.

4. A distributer for dyeing and analogous apparatus of the circulatory type, comprising a head having means for securing it to the bottom of a vat and means through which it has communication with a source of supply of liquid, said head also having a chamber provided with a series of apertures, a branch which rises from said chamber and is formed with a series of apertures and other branches which communicate with the chamber through the first mentioned apertures and have closed outer ends and lon- 'gitudinally-disposed outlet apertures, the last mentioned branches being arranged at an angle to the first mentioned branch and the apertures thereof being arranged to discharge the liquid in planes which will intersect the planes of discharge of the liquid from the first mentioned branch.

5. In an apparatus of the class described, a vat, provided with a bottom plate and a compression plate, relatively arranged to provide a liquid receiving space, a materialreceiving space and an overflow space within the vat, eachof said plates being perforated throughout their areas, combined with a dis-. tributer having a head which extends into the liquor-receiving space and is provided within the latter with a series of branches having longitudinally-disposed discharge apertures beneath. the perforated bottom plate, said headalso having a branch which extends through the bottom plate and into the material-receiving space so as to be embedded in the material under treatment, the latter branch having its wall formed with apertures through which the liquor issues into the interior of the mass.

6. In an apparatus of the class described, a vat, provided with a bottom plate and a compression plate, relatively arranged to provide a liquor receiving space, a material receiving space and an overflow space within the vat, each of said plates being perforated throughout their areas, combined with a distributer having a head which extends into the liquor-receiving space and is provided within the latter with a series of branches having longitudinallydisposed discharge apertures beneath the perforated bottom plate, said head also having a branch which extends through the bottom plate and into the material-receiving space so as to be embedded in the material under treatment, the latter branch having its wall formed with apertures so disposed as to discharge the liquor into the interior of the mass directly upwardly toward the center of the compression plate and outwardly toward the side wall of the vat.

7 In an apparatus of the class described, a vat, provided with a bottom plate and a compression plate relatively arranged to provide a liquid-receiving space, a materialreceiving space and an overflow space within the vat, each of said plates being perfo rated throughout their areas, means for preventing the flow of fiuld from the liquidreceiving space into the materlal-recelving space contiguous to the inner wall of the latter, and a distributer having lateral branches within the liquid receiving space and a head in the material-receiving space, said branches and head being apertured for the outflow of liquid therefrom, the apertures of the head being disposed to direct the liquid laterally into the mass of material.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand in presence of two subscribing witnesses.

DAVID M. HEY.

Witnesses R. H. VVILLIAMS, JAMES F. FINLAY.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Iatents. Washington, D. C. 

